Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

"The Smartest Guys in the Room" redirects here. For the 2003 book by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, see The Smartest Guys in the Room (book).

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlex Gibney
Written byAlex Gibney
Based on The Smartest Guys in the Room
by Bethany McLean
Peter Elkind
Produced by
Narrated byPeter Coyote
CinematographyMaryse Alberti
Edited byAlison Ellwood
Music byMatthew Hauser
Production
companies
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release date
  • April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22)
[2]
Running time
109 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$700,000[4]
Box office$4.9 million[5]

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is a 2005 American documentary film based on the best-selling 2003 book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, who are credited as writers of the film alongside the director, Alex Gibney. It examines the 2001 collapse of the Enron Corporation, which resulted in criminal trials for several of the company's top executives during the ensuing Enron scandal, and contains a section about the involvement of Enron traders in the 2000-01 California electricity crisis. Archival footage is used alongside new interviews with McLean and Elkind, several former Enron executives and employees, stock analysts, reporters, and former governor of California Gray Davis.

The film won the awards for Best Documentary Feature at the 21st Independent Spirit Awards and Best Documentary Screenplay at the 58th Writers Guild of America Awards.[6] It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  2. ^ PopMatters
  3. ^ "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room". British Board of Film Classification. May 11, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  4. ^ Kirsner, Scott (December 1, 2005). "Maverick Mogul". Fast Company. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)". Box Office Mojo. September 29, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "WGA docu nods to 'Enron'". variety.com. Variety. February 1, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on January 13, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  8. ^ 2006|Oscars.org